Actor locked up and beaten with rubber batons during audition

Sometimes auditioning for a film can be torture as actor Jack O'Connell found out after he was locked in a cell and beaten with a rubber baton by crew members to test his acting.

Angelina Jolie's new biopic 'Unbroken' had a one of the toughest audition processes for actors, which involved locking them in a dark cell where they would be confined for an undetermined period of time while a crew member would regularly come into the room and hit actors with a rubber baton.

On Friday at the Hollywood Film Awards, Jolie explained what the actors had to do and how they reacted emotionally to the situation. She praised British actor Jack O'Connell's performance, and the way he approached the scene:

"He looked around the darkness, he felt the isolation, and he looked so young and vulnerable, and when he was hit, he took the beating, he ended up shaking from the feelings and he allowed his emotions to come forward…The second time he begged the guard to stop with tears in his eyes. And the third time, something happened. His eyes changed and he went against the script. And when the guard came in, he fought back."

'Unbroken' tells the story of an Olympic swimmer, Louis Zamperini, who is taken prisoner by Japanese forces during WW2 and is written by the Coen Brothers.

'Unbroken' trailer

Angelina Jolie's new film will come out in theaters on Christmas Day.

Iain Alexander

Founder - Film Industry Network

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